The shoe was on the other foot for the IFA, who staged a sit-in at Bord Bia's offices, when a farmer in dispute with the association staged his own sit-in at the Wexford IFA agm on Monday.
Tom Byrne, one of the Bord Bia five. \ Philip Doyle.
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In a reversal of roles, the IFA leadership had to deal with a sit-in themselves on Monday evening. As Francie Gorman arrived to address the Wexford IFA AGM, he discovered over 100 farmers outside the Enniscorthy Farm Centre, while one sat inside.
Paddy Kehoe, a tillage farmer from The Ballagh, has had a long-running dispute with the IFA, and was sitting in the meeting hall, ready to present his case to the meeting. Previous AGMs have been disrupted by this issue, as Kehoe sought answers as to why a dispute that began in the early 1980s, which initially concerned the transfer of a sugar beet quota as part of a farm sale, has not been resolved.
Following a one-to-one discussion with Gorman, which promised a meeting in the near future, Kehoe left and the meeting began about 45 minutes behind schedule.
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Ironically, Tom Byrne, one of the five IFA farmers who staged a 28-day sit-in at Bord Bia’s headquarters, was one of those left outside while Kehoe made his protest. When the meeting eventually began, Byrne was given a resounding standing ovation by his fellow farmers.
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In a reversal of roles, the IFA leadership had to deal with a sit-in themselves on Monday evening. As Francie Gorman arrived to address the Wexford IFA AGM, he discovered over 100 farmers outside the Enniscorthy Farm Centre, while one sat inside.
Paddy Kehoe, a tillage farmer from The Ballagh, has had a long-running dispute with the IFA, and was sitting in the meeting hall, ready to present his case to the meeting. Previous AGMs have been disrupted by this issue, as Kehoe sought answers as to why a dispute that began in the early 1980s, which initially concerned the transfer of a sugar beet quota as part of a farm sale, has not been resolved.
Following a one-to-one discussion with Gorman, which promised a meeting in the near future, Kehoe left and the meeting began about 45 minutes behind schedule.
Ironically, Tom Byrne, one of the five IFA farmers who staged a 28-day sit-in at Bord Bia’s headquarters, was one of those left outside while Kehoe made his protest. When the meeting eventually began, Byrne was given a resounding standing ovation by his fellow farmers.
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